Democrats finally gave up their “The War is Lost” and “The Surge is a Failure!” mantras once it became undeniable that the Surge has been a great success. They have since adapted the argument that there has been no political progress in Iraq. Of course that’s complete horsehockey as well. Iraqi leaders have come together to pass many very difficult, contentious laws that required a great deal of cooperation, compromise and trust.

I think Democrat Senator Joe Lieberman said it best (echoing our observations) when questioning General Petraeus on Capitol Hill last week:

“Hey, let’s be honest about this: The Iraqi political leadership has achieved a lot more political reconciliation and progress since September than the American political leadership has.”

Now we learn that Iraqis are continuing that progress, heedless of Democrats dishonest claims to the contrary:

At the same time, Iraq’s Cabinet ratcheted up the pressure on anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr by approving draft legislation barring political parties with militias from participating in upcoming provincial elections.

Al-Sadr, who heads the country’s biggest militia, the Mahdi Army, has been under intense pressure from Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, also a Shiite, to disband the Mahdi Army or face political isolation.

Al-Sadr’s followers are eager to take part in the local elections because they believe they can take power away from rival Shiite parties in the vast, oil-rich Shiite heartland of southern Iraq.

And in a new move to stem the flow of money to armed groups, the government ordered a crackdown on militiamen controlling state-run and private gas stations, refineries and oil distribution centers.

It is believed that gas stations and distribution centers, especially in eastern Baghdad and some southern provinces, are covertly controlled by Shiite militiamen dominated by the Mahdi Army.

Can someone please explain how Democrats can fault Iraqis for being more willing to compromise and making more political progress than they have themselves?